0,7 mm Copper wire (2 m)

RP Toolz 0.7 mm Copper wire (2 m)

Copper wire 0.7 mm in diameter on a 2 meter coil from RP Toolz. This is a modeling material, not a kit — you are not buying a model but the stock from which you add what the mold left out. Seven tenths of a millimeter is already a noticeably heavier gauge: on the finished model the wire reads as a part in its own right, not as a hair.

Use

• Coarser lines and hydraulics — hydraulic hoses and plumbing on aircraft landing gear, on the booms of construction machinery, on gun cradles and in engine bays, where thinner wires look undersized.
• Pins for joining parts — drill a hole in both parts to be glued, insert a piece of wire and the joint no longer depends on the glued area alone.
• Reinforcement in fragile resin and 3D printed parts — thin figure legs, struts, masts and antennas. Drill a hole, glue the wire in with cyanoacrylate and the part will no longer break off as you handle it.
• Larger scales — in 1:32, 1:35 or 1:24 the 0.7 mm is a sensible compromise between visibility and flexibility.
• Copper is soft and malleable: you bend the wire in your fingers or with tweezers, it keeps the shape and repeated adjustment does not break it off the way plastic would crack.

Working and painting

Cut the wire with side cutters and form curves by bending it around a drill bit or a round handle. Copper takes solder, so it can build genuinely soldered structures, not just glued ones. On the model the wire is most often fixed with cyanoacrylate in a pre-drilled hole. Before painting, degrease the wire (alcohol or acetone on a cloth) and use a primer — otherwise the paint holds badly on smooth bare copper and flakes off when the wire is bent.

Who it is for

For modelers who detail vehicles, repair and reinforce resin and printed parts, build dioramas or add the elements the manufacturer left out of the kit. A 2 m coil lasts through a whole series of models.

The cut ends of the wire are sharp — work carefully and collect the offcuts so they do not stay on the bench. Paints, glue and primer are not included in the package.